Another display of ‘might is right’

We unequivocally condemn the US-Israel military aggression against Iran that has killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and more than 200 others since February 28. We must, however, also state that Iran’s retaliatory attacks against its own neighbours, targeting US assets there, benefit no one, neither the Iranians nor other Middle Easterners, let alone the rest of the world. Such actions have only served to escalate the situation.

The attack on Iran has been conducted breaking all international diplomatic norms, rules, and laws. After the latest round of talks between the US and Iran over the latter’s “nuclear programme” concluded on February 26, the negotiator, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, expressed hope about its renewal. But the US initiated the attack in collusion with Israel even before the next phase of talks could resume. It is now clear that it was never about denuclearisation but about toppling the regime. What’s worse is that among the first targets that were hit was a girls' school in southern Iran, not a nuclear facility.

At least that’s what Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to relay in his Saturday morning speech. He said they believed the negotiations were “fruitless and deceitful” and Iran was only buying itself time “to rebuild their nuclear and missile capabilities” through the talks. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, in his Truth Social posts, said Khamenei’s killing was “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.” A report published in The Guardian also claims that the military offensive was aimed more at toppling the Iranian regime rather than neutralising a nuclear threat.

Perhaps this should not come as a surprise, given what the US did in Venezuela just two months ago: abducting a sitting president and Trump expressing interest in running the country and fixing its oil infrastructure. Indeed, the current war once again indicates that the declarations countries made after World War II to respect the sovereignty of all states, whether big or small, no longer stand. Big powers—be it Russia invading Ukraine or the US bombing Iran without provocation—can do whatever they wish, breaching all international rules and norms. Small, militarily weak sovereign states are at the mercy of big powers.

What happens to Iran remains to be seen, but its continuous retaliatory offensive against its neighbours with US military bases will only invite more hostility and increase instability across the region. The impact of the war is already visible: thousands of flights have been disrupted, including over 50 flights just in Bangladesh. At least four Bangladeshis have been reportedly injured in drone attacks in Kuwait. The lives of many other Bangladeshi expatriates remain at risk as the Middle East is our main labour market. We urge the government to employ all its diplomatic efforts to ensure their safety. If this war continues for a considerable time, the world economy, particularly the energy supply, will suffer. The government must take pre-emptive actions to minimise the impact on Bangladesh.

We also call on world leaders and international bodies to defuse the situation and bring the warring parties back to the negotiation table. A world that is already experiencing subdued economic growth and facing pressures of trade wars and environmental crises cannot afford yet another war.